I just got back from Coney Island, where I thought I was going to have an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-esque winter beachwalk, but ended up just eating cheese fries at the Nathan’s and loaning a drug dealer my phone.
Aliza and I got on the F train at 57th and 6th. As part of Make Music NY’s first winter installment, cellists (and, we learned, violinists, too) were performing the prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite no. 1. The idea, as I understood it, was that F train riders would hear the same repeated melody every time the subway doors opened from 7pm to 8pm. Unfortunately, unamplified this was nearly impossible. Even when the performer was right in front of you, it was hard to hear in some stations. There were some beautiful moments at the outdoor Brooklyn stations, and the performance at 14th street was particularly lovely. There was no one was at the final few stops (including Coney Island!), even though it was still before 8. It was pretty wet out, so perhaps unsafe for the instruments? At the Ditmas Avenue stop, I randomly saw a colleague from Orpheus when I poked my torso out of the car, and also waved at Eric Jacobsen from The Knights, who I have never met. That was kind of weird of me?
Aliza got off at Second Avenue, and reported that an actual busker was playing the trumpet on the uptown platform, blowing (ZING) the Make Music NY girl out of the water! Aliza was pleased as punch that “it is not even 8pm and I have had dinner and watched a concert and am now home feeling very productive about my life.”
It was fun to try and find the musicians at every station, and all-in-all a nice little adventure. I’m not certain the intended whimsy was achieved if you didn’t know what to look and listen for, but I’m sure it at least made the wait for the F train at the platforms more pleasant.
Maybe next time the musicians can be amplified and they can play “Somewhere”, to match the notes the F train makes when pulling out of the station.
Video of what actually happened here, via Alex Ross’s Twitter feed:
And some photos from my trip here:
Hi Amanda – I’m so happy you were able to check this out. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry some of those final stations in Brooklyn ended up not having any musicians present but it sounds like you got the idea… and at least you got some cheesy fries out of it, right? Anyway, I totally completely agree – if we ever do this project again we should either investigate amplification (we would have needed permits for that) or not emphasize the “you’ll hear the music when the doors open” part of it.
Lots of musicians told me after that they have never seen the train conductors (in the middle cars) so happy. If you think about it they were really the ones with the “best seats” for the duration.
Wow! I had no idea this campaign was taking place! I wish I had known so I could’ve looked out for the musicians. From the look of these pictures the players might have been more noticeable if they were all wearing full out concert attire (black tie and gowns) and had a poster or sign nearby. Maybe donations could’ve been accepted for their individual orchestra or a charity like save the music…also I LOVE the idea of playing “somewhere” as I am constantly humming that tune whenever the subway arrives.
I think this project has such potential and the best people to talk to would be the folks from Improv Everywhere. I know a few of them perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater. They specialize in “causing scenes” and this is certainly a “scene to be seen.”
Hope these suggestions help and I look forward to the second annual Make Music NY…
(Oh and one more thing- could this promotion possibly be a tie-in with the “Play Me I’m Yours” Piano art installment that has been popping up all summer? Maybe?)